1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to air ventilation grilles. More specifically, it relates to air returns having a retractable grille for home and commercial air conditioning systems.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
As the average age of the United. States population continues to increase, the number of homeowners capable of performing routine home maintenance continues to decline. Unfortunately, the aging population is forced to make the difficult choice of giving up their autonomy, selling their home, or living in unsafe homes. In certain situations, homeowners are forced to pay a handyman to come out to their home and perform routine maintenance. This can end up costing homeowners hundreds or thousands of dollars each year during a time when the aging population is increasingly reliant on a limited fixed income.
The removal and replacement of air return filters are an everyday home maintenance tasks that become increasingly difficult and dangerous to perform as the age of the homeowner increases. Routine air filter replacement is critical for the maintenance, performance, comfort, and health of the home's occupants. Proper air quality is maintained by taking unfiltered air within the home, passing it through an air filter, and returning the filtered air to the home through the homes central air conditioning (A/C) system. Air filters serve to remove dust, debris, and harmful pathogens from the air circulating within the home, and manufactures typically recommend that air filters be replaced every 1-3 months. Furthermore, having clean and filtered air circulating within the home is even more critical for the elderly who are most susceptible to illness and least likely to be able to perform this common maintenance task on their own.
Typically, return air filters are recessed high up in the ceiling of a home and out of the reach of the typical homeowner. As a result, homeowners are reliant on ladders, scaffolding, and other furniture to extend their reach and provide themselves access to remove and replace the return air filters. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 500,000 people in the United States are treated, and about 300 people die from ladder-related injuries costing the United States $24 billion in work loss, medical, legal, and pain and suffering each year. The present invention will prevent a number of these injuries and deaths.
Accordingly, what is needed is an air return having a retractable grille, thereby providing homeowners with a safe and reliable way of ensuring clean, filtered air circulating throughout their home. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.